What’s pink, purple, just about 3 feet tall and likely to cause shrieks of delight when a child sees it? The new Barbie Dream House! Barbie’s been saving up her hard earned pennies (as a vet, doctor, teacher, lawyer, swim teacher, dolphin trainer, ballerina, and what else does she do for careers?) and she’s got a HUGE and fabulous new dream house with ocean views right in Malibu.

Photographer DennisStylist Cheryl Jo

This post is sponsored through my affiliation with the One2One Network.

Barbie’s new dream house is AMAZING. I can’t even imagine a kid not wanting to play with it. So many rooms, so many features, so many fun things to do, to move, to hear, to see. TWO elevators. Stainless appliances (which have a pinkish hue, and I would totally love pink of any sort on my appliances) and all kinds of lights and sounds and fun things. Plus, a closet that’s basically half of one floor of the house. What girl doesn’t want a closet that big? I would love it.

Aside from the closet, which actually comes with hangers so you can hang some of the clothes you already have for your dolls, there’s actually a decent amount of storage in the new dream house for toys, clothes and accessories. There are several compartments that you can tuck pieces into – the appliances open up in the kitchen, there are open shelves near the bathroom, as well as the closet, plus another compartment within the closet. (I would have loved for the little vanity that comes with this set have a little drawer that opens up for makeup and stuff!! Maybe in version 2.0).

Barbie’s new house is totally modern. From a flatscreen mounted on the wall that looks like art and drops down to TV to the stainless appliances, Barbie’s laptop and even a recycling area, this is definitely the dream house for 2013. It’s hip, modern, funky and fun, and with lots of rooms and features to play with, kids will spend many, many hours enjoying the dream house.

Of course, before any kid plays with it you have to assemble it. Now, I’m not going to sugar coat this. If you think you can set this up Christmas Eve after the kids go to bed, think again. Plan on 2 hours for just in case for assembly. Plus setting it all up nice, and “test play” runs. Also, this house is over 3 feet tall. It needs some serious floor space. Plan accordingly.

The dream house comes with the funniest instruction sheets I have ever seen. One is deliberately funny, and pokes fun at the 1000 stickers included (it’s really not that many stickers, and none are tiny). The other funny instructions are the actual instructions. They are lacking. Thankfully, Mattel is aware of this and you can access a pretty decent YouTube video that gives a much more in depth explanation- although that skips over a lot. Between the paper and the video, you should be good to go. (I don’t think that the actual instructions were meant to be funny, but really, they are super hard to follow)

Really, I find toy assembly goes best with wine and good friends. Or, at the very least, chocolate and good friends. Plan on a few hours, if it takes less, celebrate. And then sit back and watch the kids enjoy Barbie’s fabulous new digs. AFTER you have a chance to play yourselves. Rewards for the hard work and job well done, of course!

Barbie’s 2013 Dream House is priced at $184 and is available at Walmart.com, Amazon.com, ToysRUs.com and Kmart.com!